The Reign of Darkness
by SamanthaYagasaki
Summary: The story takes place two years after Advent Children. The Turks relocated in Edge to slowly begin the process of rebuilding ShinRa. However, a dark sin from ShinRa's past has started to threaten all of humanity living on Gaia.   click to read the rest
1. The beginning

**Hello! This is a group role play we have been doing for some time now ^^. I am posting it so it would be easier for others of the group to see it and for those who is curious on reading it. Everyone is welcome to read it. There is OC in the mix and hopefully the story will explain them enough for you guys. You are free to comment or send out your thoughts.**

**I hope you guys enjoy it for those that read it! I have plenty of chapters ready, but need to edit them before posting. The next chapter will be longer.**

**All FF7 characters, FF7 setting, and story is created by Square Enix and OC and already created characters is created by their respective owners.**

**Credit also goes to the role players of the role play.**

**Summary: The story takes place two years after Advent Children. The Turks relocated in Edge to slowly begin the process of rebuilding ShinRa. However, a dark sin from ShinRa's past has started to threaten all of humanity living on Gaia. The Turks must band together and get help from others, including Cloud Strife, to try and stop this new threat. They soon find out this isn't an easy task as they even conflict with each other.**

Reno sighed as he closed the warehouse door. First the Geostigma scare, then Deepground. He was surprised the emergency supplies had lasted as long as they had, despite the riots and looting. In the past four years, what was left of ShinRa and the WRO had restocked emergency rations and development tools.

He scratched the back of his head and yawned. Inventory had taken all night, but that was the last warehouse. He replaced the hefty padlock and stretched. Yup - he definitely deserved some downtime after this. The only thing more exhausting than action was inaction, and emergency inventory paperwork was about as boring as it got.

Reno met the sunrise with a disinterested grunt, approaching the large monument built after Meteor. ShinRa had had to rebuild that, too, after those remnants.

Fuckin' Remnants... he grumbled.

He took a second to stop and glance over the stone, slouched with hands in his pockets.

It was then he saw her.

She looked normal at first glance, but Reno knew better. Something was... off. He approached cautiously, keeping a casual air so as not to alarm her. " 'Scuse me, miss?"

The stumbling female stopped and her head slowly turned. She was pale - sickly pale, almost gray - and her eyes were sunken and dark. "Help... me..." she managed before leaping toward him.

"Th' fuck!" he yelped as he jumped out of the way. His EMR was out in an instant.

Whatever this was, it was not good.

She could smell the air in this area smelled tainted to her as she stood on the stand by in the street. The scent was similar in all places no matter what location she traveled. There was a hint of human decay. Nature was slowly returning as things started to die down with its destruction. She is glad to see the planet slowly repairing itself, but it was going to take a very long time before it would return to what it looked like before the attack. She knew exactly where she was, but she couldn't help, but to wander in areas that made her mind sink into memories.

She wore a black robe to cover most of her features. Her face half concealed by a hood so she wouldn't be easily recognized. If there was anyone still alive that even recognized her anyway. She heard activity nearby and couldn't help, but to break out of her thoughts to look at the scene of the woman and EMR activity. She seemed interested to see what was going on, but wasn't going to intervene like she usually would at this time of crisis. Where she was located, she really didn't want to intervene.

Reno gritted his teeth. His job was to rebuild and protect the public now, he got that part - but what's he supposed to do in this situation? The woman was obviously somewhat conscious in... there... He had to hold back if he didn't want to kill her.

But it was hard to be merciful when something was outright trying to claw and bite you.

The best he could do was disabling the materia on his rod. Otherwise, all bets were off.

"Let's go, bitch," he growled.

Deflecting flailing limbs left and right, Reno was able to kick the woman's legs from under her. It was then he also noticed one other new thing.

Tiny little feathers beginning to break through the skin on her back.

"Ugh!" Reno cringed and took a step back.

Sam was a bit disgusted to see an obvious ShinRa worker attack this woman who was completely unarmed. She could not fully see the woman's details, but the feathers did catch her eye. She knew then that this was one of the infected that was in mid change. She could not recognize Reno at the moment, but knew this could turn out to be another infected person if nothing were to happen soon.

She unsheathed her sword from her back and ran forward being as silent as possible. She didn't want to alert anyone till after the act. The sword began to take an emerald green glow. She slashed her sword horizontally to send out a beam from her sword to fully cut the head from the body. She knew she was still human and there was no cure for this infection.

As she started to put her sword away, she then realized what she had just done. She just intervened when she kept telling herself not to do that anymore. She cursed herself in her head several times knowing the action she had just done will cause a panic or some sort of alertness of her presence.

Reno jumped back as the beam cut threw his line of vision. He had to squint and look away from the glare, but when it was over he could see the woman was clearly decapitated. He grimaced. It wasn't like he hadn't seen it before, or been the aggressor to deal the final blow, but the whole situation skeeved him out.

No time for dwelling on the mutated freaks of the past. Reno turned to look toward the source of the beam. Whoever did that was obviously powerful. Cloud, maybe? There was certainly a question or two Reno had for the brooding blond.  
>"Hey!" he called out. He wasn't ready to put away his EMR quite yet, even though the figure's weapon had been sheathed, but he took on a slightly more relaxed - perhaps slightly suspicious - slouch.<p>

Sam saw the man look at her and was not going to stick around to see what he would say or do. She turned herself around and placed her hand over her hood to pull it down some to block out more features.

She began to start speed walking when she heard his voice call out to her. She had a thought that it sounded a bit familiar to her, but wasn't sure from where in her memories. She wasn't going to stop and ask why that is.

"You gonna help me clean this up or what?" His voice had taken on a bit of an annoyed tone.

Sam decided to at least respond, but didn't turn around, "It is not my responsibility to clean up that mess. If you want to reduce the chance of infection, you better get somebody to burn every trace of that body or you could to end up like her. I will not be afraid to do the same to you as well."

Reno's eye twitched and he snorted indignantly. "She never touched me. But ya can't just go 'round here decapitatin' chicks an' then walk away like nothin' happened. Ya get involved, it's yer responsibility too."

He took a deep breath and huffed it out as he belted his EMR. "Th' hell is this anyway? Feathered zombie chicks aren't exactly, y'know, the norm." He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

Sam stopped walking and turned around to look at him, "...do you actually live UNDER a rock? Have you not been alert to what has been going on? What attacked you was not a 'zombie' she was infected by a dark seraph and she was in the process of becoming one of them."

Reno narrowed his eyes. Her whole attitude was really pissing him off. "Sorry, been a little busy keepin' the world from socioeconomic collapse," he sneered. "But I'll get right on curin' every disease right soon as I get back t' my magical lab at the end a' the rainbow."

He tsk'd to himself as he turned and pulled out his cellphone. "Tseng. We're gonna need a van down here at the monument. Make it subtle, it's a bio waste."

Sam heard that name and tensed for a moment. She knew she remembered that name a long time ago. She looked at the person again and examined him further. It was starting to bother her that she could not fully remember. So many things have went on that a lot of things in her past seemed a several decades ago.

She saw his hair and knew then she remembered someone in her past that she remembered only had that color of hair. She mumbled, "Reno..." She wasn't sure if she was correct or not.

Reno paused and cocked an eyebrow, quickly glancing over his shoulder. Did he hear his name? Nah, couldn't be...

"Look, just get it over here, man, it's makin' a mess an' I can't cover this all up myself. No, I can't just deal with it, it's diseased or something." A pause. "Ya think?" exploded from his lips in sarcastic exasperation. "Alright, I'll be here."

He snapped the phone closed and pocketed it again, glancing sideways at the corpse. He'd have to deal with the bloodstains before the morning rush. Which could be any time now. He hoped he had at least another half hour of the sleepy, calm Edge before civilians stumbled upon the scene.

Sam watched his reaction and wasn't sure how to interpret it. She turned back around and began walking away. She needed to get out of this place before it suddenly became active again. She removed the hood and pulled her hair out from under the cloak to let it go free. It was much to humid to wear it at that moment.

Maybe rain is coming?

She could smell the hint of rain, but wasn't sure if that would be good if that body isnt burned in time. Water seems to make things spread further. She let out a heavy sigh and began her way off the street.

Reno saw the figure departing again and figured he'd let it go. Seemed like too much trouble - he was only one man, and someone had to watch this body. He did a double-take when he saw the hood come off, though. Pretty girl, he guessed. Well, so was Tifa.

Sam might hear the van pull to a stop behind her path and arguing voices as the body is carefully removed and stowed away for research. A splash as the blood was washed away with alcohol.

Sam certainly did hear the voices and the van pulling up. She couldn't help, but to turn her head to look back to see what they were doing. She snorted knowing what they were going to do with the body. They were not going to follow up on her warning on properly disposing the body. She knew how far long the body was and knew it wasn't going to destroy the creature inside it just because she decapitated the woman. The only reason why she did this act was to stop her from infecting someone else and to give time for the body to properly be disposed of. She knew they were going to see something they may of never witnessed before in their lives once the creature took a hold of the headless corpse. The body inside the van began to spasm and thrash inside the van almost as if it heard her thoughts.

Nearby, a black limo idled quietly, almost patiently. It had rolled up behind the Hazmat van, unmolested by the team of specialists who'd been cleaning up, as if they weren't even aware it had been there following. It was a tad early to start the day, especially with what appeared to be a rather rich person who should've been sleeping soundly in their chocobo down bed. Aside from being a limo, the vehicle was rather nondescript, save for a hood ornament of an inverted triangle that appeared to be comprised of three stylized letter G's.

The spamming corpse was stilled with a few gunshots, but it still made Reno shudder. That was *not* natural. Tseng glared at him as extra precautions were taken and the van sped off. Reno knew what the other man was thinking - It's just a reflex. You've seen it before. The brain stays active for blah blah blah minutes and whatever. Reno never bothered to listen to the rest. So what if it was nauseating? It didn't make him weak to be legitimately disturbed by the twitching of a headless corpse! The redhead was knocked out of his inner monologue when he heard an extra set of uninvited tires and his eyes were drawn to the limo. Drawn, and narrowed. Today was just not his day. He huffed through his nose once more to try to get it together, and made his way toward the limo. "Mornin', Mr. Graves," he drawled. "Ain't it a bit early t' be pokin' yer nose inta' business that ain't yours?"

Sam was very interested now that there was another presence in the area, but not too interested to stay. She turned away and continued walking off as a few drops of rain began to drip over her clothing darkening the shade. She hoped they would regret storing that body away. Maybe with luck that one infection is all ShinRa needed to fully fall to the ground.

The sound of the front passenger and driver doors opening cut the morning still, or at least what was left of it as two rather fearsome looking men got out of the car and approached the Turk. Both were about above average height, moved with the predatory grace of professionals highly trained in the most unpleasant of classified duties and built like trucks. Both were garbed in crisp, tailor made black suits with maroon shirts, black ties and ear buds and were reaching into their jackets for something metallic. Both paused, tilting their heads slightly as they listened to the buds.

"Yeah, that's right, listen t' yer boss," Reno chided with a patronizing tone. For a second there, he almost believed they'd pull something. Almost. But Graves was smarter than that. He debated making a comment about their suits - about how Turks did it first and did it better, and maroon is a poor substitute - but he decided not to push his luck. "Now is he done makin' me wait around? I'm a busy man an' I got work t' do, so if y'all could please put yer pretty little asses back in yer shiny car and reverse outta here, that'd be great." He raised an eyebrow and shifted his weight expectantly.

The bodyguards fidgeted aggressively, but returned to the car with the reluctant peacefulness of an enraged, tranq'd rhino. There was an audible click and whirl as a pitch black tinted window descended and revealed the shadowy figure shrouded in the dim dark of the interior. "I apologize for the rather... overzealous response from my employees, but you do have a bit of a reputation, so no need to be such a grouchy ginger," came the dark, velvety male voice from the interior. "You know perfectly well that I have the right to be here. Those fancy new vans kinda give me the right." From the gloom inside the car, an eerie gleam pierced the dark.

Reputation? Ginger? Reno's eye twitched and he popped the fingers of his left hand in irritation, gripping the lighter in his pocket with his right. He hated being indebted to this guy. Almost made him miss Don Corneo. Another almost. Reno smiled insincerely into the dark window. "Money or not, civvies don't get the right to step in bio hazard. Safety first an' all."

He couldn't wait to get away for a good, long smoke.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm well aware of the risks. So, please don't cry for me," came the cool reply. "I'm merely observing."

Sam's curiousness could not force her to leave the area just yet, but she kept her distance in a darker ally. She used the dark clothing she wore to help her blend in to her surroundings. She listened in on the conversation and her belief on who the red head is was really who she thought it was. She swallowed the lump in her throat wondering how many years have actually passed since the last time she actually saw this man. She could not see the man in the limo, but she could hear and could sense a cold vibe from him. Very similar to a feeling she got around most of ShinRa's men.

"Well aware - ?" Reno stopped himself. He wasn't even fully aware of the risks yet. He'd been gone much too long for his comfort at this point. But Graves? Whatever. Fuck it. "I'll consider that a verbal waiver of liability then," he replied instead. "Just don't get in the way. This ain't a place for tourists."

Sam watched the angry Reno and wondered what was this stranger. She wondered if it was another higher up for ShinRa or just some rich guy that thought he could go where ever he liked.

"Is a wayward son not a stranger in his own home at first," mused the man aloud. "You should be more concerned with old allies and the secrets they keep than lil' ol' me." There was an almost imperceptible tilt of the gleaming orbs in the dark towards the watchful girl, having already observed her since her grand entrance of creating a fountain out of a person minutes earlier and the movement to the shadows. "Reno, you should be careful. It would just eat me up inside if a good buddy like you made a wrong move as these events unfold." The concern in his voice was tempered with snark. "The city has changed some and that progress may not be stoppable... for better... or worse." Ending with a cryptic note, the window went back up with an almost thoughtful home and the limo left, nothing more than an echo in the breaking dawn.

Reno's stomach twisted at "good buddy," and it only went downhill from there. All this mysterious mumbo-jumbo was giving him a headache and he massaged his forehead. He needed a nap, stat. "Bastard," he muttered as he returned to supervising the last bit of clean-up and rumor-quashing.


	2. The Sickness

Sam wasn't sure why she was doing this. She felt like she was being stupid being here in this city still. She had told herself constantly she needed to leave as soon as possible. She seemed to fail to listen to herself lately. She couldn't keep her mind straight on what she SHOULD be doing. Not seeking out someone she has seen in the past.

There weren't many out there that are still alive that would recognize her. The ones she want to recognize her anyway. A part of her wanted to find someone that still does, but the other part kept trying to convince her to leave knowing what he actually was.

She let out a sigh and forced herself to climb up on top of a windowsill on the top floor of the place. She went through a lot of trouble and stalking to locate this place. She just wished it was a little, but easier to get too. She could see the window was still cracked just enough for her to put a hand through. Good, she didn't have to break the window open if it ended up being closed or locked. She slowly pulled it open and slid herself into what seemed to be the kitchen. She brought her legs inside and slid herself onto the floor as quietly as she could. She scanned around the place for a moment before taking her first steps. She grit her teeth and tensed when she took a step and the squeaking of the floor sounded. She held her foot back up and placed it back to where it was. She felt like she was in a mine field, but instead of bombs, squeaky locations.

Hearing a squeak, the lightly-sleeping Reno slid his hand under his pillow to where his pistol was concealed. It sounded like the perp was still in the house and hadn't chickened out yet, so he kept his breathing calm and his sleeping facade, planning. What could someone want here? Wasn't this place hard enough to find? Besides, it'd been years - were there still anti-ShinRa extremists out there with a death wish? Reno didn't know, but he was going to find out.

For now, he'd wait with the safety off and see what happened. A squeaky floor was perhaps his best investment in this place.

Sam assumed no matter where she stepped, it was going to make a noise. She looked up at the ceiling and wondered if she could get away with that, but she had no idea if it would even hold her if she were to claw into it. She looked at how far it would be to get to an actual carpeting floor. She could make it in a leap, but the sound she would make if her boots come in contact with the floor. She cursed mentally and decided, oh what the hell, she might as well make her presence known. She spoke up, "Your floor is shitty and old." She pulled off her hood and crossed her arms.

Reno smirked. Well well, if it wasn't that broad from earlier. Gutsy bunny.

"Your presence is audacious an' unexpected," he called in response. He kept his hand on his gun as he rolled over, no longer pretending to be asleep, and propped himself up so he could see her down the hallway from his room. "Whaddaya want?" he asked, lounging easily with his knee raised below the covers, his gun arm slung over it.

Sam responds, "May help you if you turned on a light of some kind. I haven't seen you in a long while...if I am correct on who you are anyway..." Her eyes had a glow to it in he darkness. Kind of eerie now these days since not many people had those sorts of eyes except the dark seraph's glowing red eyes that could be easily identified in the darkness.

He could see the Mako in her eyes from down the hallway. Like lighting a cigarette on a pitch black night, that small light cut through the darkness like a knife. She must be related to ShinRa somehow, he figured. Whether for good or bad, though, was the question.

"You say you know me?" he asked suspiciously. It was possible, he figured - he did have a "reputation," apparently. "Alright... You first. C'mere - the switch is on the wall t' yer right." He wasn't about to leave himself vulnerable for a stranger; she wanted light, she could turn it on herself. He knew she could see well enough in the dark with those eyes. Turning on the ceiling light in his room would reveal them both instantly. Fair win-win, as far as he was concerned.

Sam shrugged her shoulders and reached behind her pulling off her sword off her back, "Here, to ease your nerves..." She flipped the sword so that the blade faced behind her and she tossed it across the hall way to land on the floor. She didn't hesitate to walk into the room to find the switch Reno spoke about.

Her sword gone and her attitude compliant, he obliged her by likewise leaning over to turn on the lamp on his nightstand.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" He smirked. "Y'know, if you wanted a date, ya didn't hafta break in, yo." She was pretty, like he'd guessed, but also an obviously hardened warrior. Someone like that he wouldn't be surprised he'd seen before. Maybe she'd been a SOLDIER recruit back in the day, who knew.

Sam rolled her eyes a bit at that, but her gaze went back to him to examine his feature quite thoroughly then back it to the floor, "You don't remember me? Does Dragonfire or Yagasaki ring a bell?" She listed both in case one rang a bell better than the other.

His brow creased at that, and his eyes narrowed. They did sound familiar, in fact. He studied her features harder, more seriously this time. It was a matter of business.

"They do," he answered, all-business now. "She was a SOLDIER 1st Class. One of ShinRa's finest. But she went missing years ago. Last I heard, some punk was usin' her name t' rally up the latest batch of Anti-ShinRa insurgents, but the real Dragonfire's gotta be dead by now." He cocked his head to the side suspiciously. "Why?"

Sam couldn't help a laugh at that, "Really now? I have visited you before...over 10 years ago in fact. We have met in person as well as me saving your life when that submarine or whatever it was sunk to the bottom of the sea. Just happen to stumble upon you when fish hunting...you are a good Turk, but you have a terrible memory Reno." She joked partially.

Reno stared. 10 years, 10 years... So much had happened. He thought hard. "The submarine... The Gelnika..." he mumbled. He did remember, but it was so fuzzy. Did she save him? Someone did. Where was Rude?

"Are you really sayin' yer Yagasaki? The Samantha Yagasaki?" he asked. "Seriously?"

Sam nodded her head and felt a sense of relief that he did remember her at least somewhat. It wasn't just relief that hit her though. Her hands were shaking and she hid it by grabbing hold of the cloak with her fists, "Yeah." It wasn't because HE recognized her, but to know someone around and alive through this crisis. She wasn't sure why that would make her happy to know that.

Reno's feelings, however, were tumultuous. If this woman really was the real Dragonfire, then it meant that the one who'd sided with the rebellion was likely her, not some phony. And that caused problems, whether she'd saved him in the past or not. The middle of the night was no time to sort these sort of life-changing issues out.

"Get out," he said sternly, a reaction Sam may not have bargained for.

Sam blinked after hearing those words. She really didn't expect to hear that from him, "I just got here, why?" She wasn't sure if she understood why. The other part of her was telling her off that she should of never come here in the first place. She was a fool.

"Are you for real?" he exploded. He couldn't take that innocence, he couldn't. "Yagasaki, you've got three seconds to explain t' me what the hell is goin' on an' why you're here. Otherwise, get out. I ain't harborin' a Rebel, yo."

Sam looked off to the side not able to look at him. She responds, "I am no rebel. I was kicked out over several years ago because of kindness to an enemy. I was only in there just to help out taking down dark seraphs. Only time I ever engaged on attacking ShinRa was to stop them from screwing that up. I am no assassin or any of the source. I just want to know if anyone around is still alive through these harsh years." She tried to hide any emotion on her face, but it showed greatly in her eyes. She seemed to be on the break of actually crying right then and there. She was not the "hard" cold warrior she used to be. It seemed over the years she had been broken of it.

Reno caught a glimpse of it, and thought he could hear it in her voice. Dammit... So he wasn't as hard as he used to be, either.

Letting out an irritated sigh, he replaced the safety on his gun and slipped it back under his pillow. "Kindness to an enemy... heh, that would sound like you," he said dryly, leaning forward and rubbing his face. He stole a glance at the clock - 3 a.m. Sigh. "Fine," he grunted. "Go get yerself set on the sofa, I'll be out in a sec."

Sam turned herself around and walked over to the sofa. She could smell the hint of cigarette smoke, but wasn't going to complain. She was a bit used to the scent when she was confined around the rebel fortress as a lot of locations was isolated with multiple people. She took the cloak off of her and placed it over the arm. She wore dark colored pants and a thin white colored shirt that only reached down to the half point of her stomach. She felt if she wore clothes like she used to she would die of a heat stroke being outside in the full heat. She sat herself down on the sofa and closed her eyes. She seemed much too comfortable then how she liked, but couldn't help herself.

Reno appeared a minute later, having put on a pair of pants, and sat at the furthest seat from her, still unsure where this was going. "So," he began, "what's these 'dark seraphs' you been takin' down, eh?" He'd barely had time to be briefed on a strange disease spreading and strange "angel" sightings. He figured Sam would probably know more.

Sam opened her eyes when she sensed him walk into the room. Listening to his question she responds, "Dark Seraphs...seems that ShinRa only knows their true name. I am sure your asking because you want to know how to stop them right?...I saw what happened with the body of that woman. ShinRa didn't burn it, but took it in for experiments now didn't they?" She sounded a bit annoyed when she spoke. She wished they would of listened to her words for once.

"If ShinRa knows about it, it's outta my reach," Reno admitted. He couldn't even stop Rufus from being kidnapped, and that guy was ShinRa too. "Doubt it's higher up, but just... a splinter, y'know?" He shook his head. "I almost can't believe ShinRa would be involved. I mean, really, have you seen us lately? There's nothing left!"

After he calmed down, he scratched his head. "But I guess it's not impossible," he grumbled.

As to the body... "Yeah, we took it in. Just t' see what it was. I'd heard rumors of weird shit goin' on, but all we'd find were burned corpses. Can't find anythin' out that way, had ta' see what it was to try an' figure it out."

Sam decided to answer his question, "That woman was changing into a Dark Seraph. She must of been attacked 3-7 days ago by one and got infected. The creatures know how to infect others and are wanting to spread their numbers quite desperately to take complete take over...You need to be careful when dealing with them. There is no cure for this infection. There are symptoms...You will start to hear voices in your head...you may even see images or visions that don't even exist, you may lose memory or have added in memory that doesn't even exist, you may look as if you are insane before any physical changes occur. Physical change doesn't occur till the last 12 hours of your life before the creature fully takes over the body."

Reno stared at her. "So that's it then? You get infected, no cure, you die? That's it?"

Sam nodded her head and lowered her gaze back to the floor, "No cure...you die...this infection has ruined everything for me. If humans screw up once more, they may cause the whole human race to fully die and these creatures may take our place on this planet..."

Reno froze. "Oh shit."

He leapt up and grabbed his suit jacket, fumbling with it as he shoved his bare feet into his shoes. "We gotta go. Right now."

Sam stood up wondering what that is about, "What's wrong?" She asked as she went to the hallway to grab her sword that was on the floor. She sheathed it once more.

The woman's corpse that was left behind had finally stopped thrashing once it got to the location it was brought too. Around this time, it's hands began to twitch once more.

"That body's still at the lab," Reno answered over his shoulder. "If it ain't dead, then all them people in there are gonna be."

Sam snapped a glare at him, "What the hell, didn't you tell them they needed to dispose it properly not study it?" Apart of her really didn't want to help ShinRa. It was all their fault this all happened in the first place.

The body began to thrash until it turned over onto it's stomach on the lab table. Blood began to gush out of the neck onto the table and floor. The darkness in the room it's in slowly began to climb up the table and began to form a woman's head for the body. The body gasped as it was capable of breathing again. The creature stared at the table for a moment before using it's twitching hands to push itself up. The small feather's on its back suddenly burst into full blown wings sending multiple feathers across the room.

"Why you yellin' at me for, I didn't know!" Reno flung open the door to his apartment and jogged out, assuming Sam would follow. "You need a ride?

Sam followed him out and gave him an odd look, "A ride? What you trust to take me where ever you're going?" She said somewhat surprised by that.

The creature got up off the lab table and the features resembling the dark seraph began to show. The shadows rose up it's body and formed armor that covered most of it's body. The creature looked at it's claws for a moment and smirked devilishly. It seemed very pleased to have finally gained control of the body in time before it was disposed of. It formed a sword in hand using the darkness and began to find it's way out to have a little fun before it decided to leave this location.

"You're the only one who's had real experience with these things. I don't have much of a choice but trust you, now do I?" Reno asked. He jumped down the last few stairs of every floor and quickly made it to his bike. "Hop on," he barked, tossing her his spare helmet.

Sam followed closely behind him until they made it outside. Seeing the helmet thrown at her she instinctively caught it. She stared at it for a moment then looked at what he was on and swallowed hard, "Uh...yeah I'll pass...I'll follow you in another way if you don't mind." She tossed it back and her dragon wings spread out behind her back.

"Shit!" Reno stammered and jumped back. "'Kay, fine, that wins, whatever!" He shook his head, trying to not let that get to him.

The motorcycle roared to life as Reno dangerously sped it out of the garage and down the streets, making squealing sharp turns no one else could probably handle. At least at three in the morning no one was outside to potentially run over, so Reno could ride as recklessly as he liked.

It wasn't long before he reached the lab. The building was subtle, not attracting any unwanted attention, but he knew better. He punched in the entrance code on the keypad for the garage where the vans would enter and the true entrance would be hidden. "You got ten seconds 'til closing," he called to the dragon woman he knew was somewhere nearby before riding inside.

Sam watched him speed off and judging by the noise, it wasn't going to be hard to keep up with him. She spread open her wings and ran out of the garage to jump up into the air and swiftly gained air till she flew just above the roof tops. She was relieved to see no one else on the streets. She assumed it was fear of the dark seraphs at night time. At least that was one smart thing these people did to try and avoid being attacked. Once he saw him stop she folded her wings in and dove down near the ground before pulling up spreading out her wings. She glided into the garage before it closed up on her.

She landed in the garage floor and returned her wings into her back. She had a scent struck her and felt a bit sick to her stomach. She hated lab equipment and the smell of chemicals. She could also smell something else she was farmilar to, "Theres blood in the air." She warned him.

The creature had it's fun with the night guard in the lab. There seemed to have been a struggle in the area depending on how much blood was smeared on the wall and the ground as if the man was dragging itself across the floor with multiple puncture wounds. The creature had no mind set to let this man die quickly. The creature melded into the shadows as it heard another presence near by.

"I smell it, too." There was a lot of it, Reno could tell. He hoped it wasn't too late. Bringing out his EMR, he beckoned Sam toward the door and stealthily approached it from the other side. A retinal scan gave him clearance.

Listening for action on the other side, Reno slowly eased the door open, trying to be as silent as possible. The scene before him was a mess. Blood splattered and smeared across walls, glass, and floor. The body left was in tatters. Reno resisted the urge to check the man's pulse; even if he was still breathing, if he was infected, he was already dead.

Reno's attention was snapped up with a woman's scream down the hall. He looked up to see a very distressed brunette, her uncovered eye wide in shock and her hands covering her mouth in horror.

"Shana, get back!" he shouted as he saw a shadow begin to move.

The dark seraph swiftly moved towards her in a shadow slowly forming back into the figure of the dark seraph. Sam swiftly ran forward unsheathing her sword watching the shadow knowing who it was going to strike. The creature pulled the sword back to thrust it at the woman, but Sam slid to kick the woman's feet out from under her to avoid the creature's attack. She swiftly jumped up to her feet grabbing hold of the creature's arm and throwing it forward over the woman onto the ground.

The creature landed on the ground and turned over onto it's back clearly annoyed by the sudden attack, "You bitch! I will kill you!" Sam swirled the sword in hand and pointed it at the creature not responding to it. The creature motioned with it's hand commanding the darkness to send a spike out of the ground from Sam's own shadow. Sam rolled out of the way seeming to expect it, "You are a novice still...you are in your weakest state so it will be much easier to take you down."

The creature stood up onto it's feet and charged forward yelling as it readied to slash at her with it's sword. Sam blocked the attack and the creature pulled back to start slashing almost blindly at Sam showing how novice it really was.

Shana rolled to her feet away from the spike and flattened herself against a wall, trying to avoid the blows. Reno shouted a single word at her before jumping into the fray. "Fire!"

Fire... fire... where could she get fire? Shana turned to run back the way she'd come, hoping she'd get away and be of use.

Reno electrified his EMR and began striking from beside Sam. The new Seraph was still young in its body - he'd see how fast it could block with two opponents.

The dark seraph seeing there was another opponent involved, used it's wings to flap itself away from them. Sam didn't let it get away from her, so charged forward with sword ready and slashed at the creature horizontally. The creature was a bit surprised by her speed and backed up having half of it's body slashed in half. It placed a hand on it's stomach and it slowly began to heal as blood gushed out of it's body.

"Ugh." Reno cringed. "That's just plain nasty."

"Hey! You!" came a taunt from down the hall. Reno looked to see Shana holding a bottle of... something foul... playing bait.

"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted, but she didn't stop.

The creature turned it's head to look at the woman that taunted it, "You are a fool to not escape when you had the chance!" the creature spread out it's wings and jumped to fly a foot off the ground. It flew off after the woman at full speed.

Sam shouted out, "What the hell are you doing!" She threw her sword as hard as she could striking at the dark seraph's left wing sending it to the ground. The creature seemed to get even more pissed off then it already was. It gave her a death glare and pulled the sword out of it's wing to drop it onto the ground. It stood back up and charged at them again.

Sam prepared herself as the creature came at her, but to her surprise, the creature vanished in a mist of darkness and reappeared in front Reno lunging to grab his throat. It held him up into the air, "I have had enough of this!"

"Dammit, look what you did!" What happened next was a blur for Reno.

Shana pulled back her eye patch to reveal a similar glowing green orb and sprinted inhumanly down the hall, scooping up the katana on the way. In one fluid motion she slid and slashed upward at the creature. With only one hand, she wasn't strong enough to sever its hands, but it was enough to get the blade caught on the bone - and the arms stuck together that way.

Reno gasped for breath as he was released from the seraph's grasp, but it was short lived. "Get back!" Shana shouted as she used him for leverage, kicking him out of the way and simultaneously shoving the uncapped bottle deep into the creature's throat, using the momentum to catapult her up and over. Reno was knocked to the ground, breathless. Shana didn't let go of the bottle until she'd twisted the seraph's neck back, and then when she absolutely had to release it to land, she grabbed at its hair and pulled it back.

"Take it out. I dare you," Shana hissed before shouting, "Light 'er up!"

Reno fumbled in his pocket for his lighter, still gasping for air on the ground, and feebly slid it across the floor to Sam.

Sam looked at the light and was a bit confused at what the hell it was for a moment till it suddenly hit her, "oh!" She grabbed hold of the lighter and almost laughed as she realized what they wanted her to do. She tossed the lighter aside and took in a deep breath.

The creature growled and tried to cough up whatever it was that was shoved down it's throat. It looked at the woman and shouted, "You will pay for that!" Sam released a breath of flame that struck the creature. The creature let out a scream, but was short lived as an explosion ignited from the creature.

Shana rolled away and covered herself while Reno did his best to do the same. As soon as the seraph screamed, the flame from Samantha lit up its breath, now tainted and flammable, and scorched its way through its lungs and innards. It wasn't long before it was just a smoldering mess.

The lab's emergency sprinklers went on at the detection of smoke, but it was too late for the seraph. Shana sighed with relief and then went to check on Reno, but ended up collapsing beside him. "Interesting visit," she managed.

"What the hell were you thinking? You're exhausted!" Reno yelled at her, firmly replacing her eye patch over her Mako eye, its luster now gone. "You could've gotten hurt - you could've gotten killed! ... Don't laugh at that! Geez... An' then you go an kick me in the chest!" Reno grumbled in irritation. "What was that, anyway?"

"Formaldehyde," Shana murmured with her eyes closed, falling asleep on Reno.

Reno snorted. "How fittin'. Hey - hey stop that. This ain't the time!" He sighed and wiped his now-wet hair out of his face, the sprinklers starting to soak through his clothes, and looked at Sam. "You mind helpin' me clean this up this time? He's still gotta be... y'know, torched." He gestured to the dead security guard. "Gonna hafta do it somewhere dry."

Sam nodded and began to walk over to them, but stopped suddenly when she saw something in the corner of her eye moving towards Reno. The creature swiftly emerged from the shadow among the ash, but was greatly deformed, but had enough form to actually see it was human. It's body was actually repairing itself. This proved to show why these creatures were so hard to kill.

"You're mine!" The creature brought its claw back to grab Reno by the collar and swiftly slam Reno against the wall with the sword in the other. It thrust its sword forward in rage.

Sam swiftly moved in between them and took the sword just through the side of her chest. She grit her teeth taking the pain as she lifted up her hand to grab hold of the creature's face releasing a fire spell from it.

The creature flew back headless and collapsed onto the ground on its back twitching. Its body suddenly began to vanish in a dark mist being smothered by the water.

"Waugh!" Reno grimaced as he slammed against the wall. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the blade coming.

But he never felt it.

"Sam! Shit, Sam, you okay?"

Sam stumbled on her feet grabbing hold of the wound on her chest. She turned around to look over at Reno, "Yeah, I'm...okay." She hissed in pain as she picked her sword off the ground to pull out the cure materia from it. She used the cure materia on herself, but it was only capable of placing a thin skin over it just to stop the bleeding. She could not yet feel the full pain of it do to adrenaline. "Let's get this taken care of...quickly." She sheathed her sword.

"Let me call for help," Reno offered. He was pretty banged up himself, though no open wounds, and he wasn't much use alone to help both women before him.

Reno leaned against the wall and tried to support the injured Sam. He hated to ask for help - if only because he dreaded the response - but it was a necessary gauntlet he'd just have to run. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Tseng's number, gritting his teeth in expectation of his superior's mood to be interrupted at 4 in the morning.

The phone was answered with surprising haste. "Reno, I'm glad you called. We've received word of a problem down at the lab. I was just about to ask you to find Rude and go investigate it. Oh..was there something you called me about?" Tseng had the courtesy to actually ask him.

"Ah... yeah, Boss," Reno answered with saccharine sweetness. "I'm actually already here... An' "problem" is a bit of an understatement, yo."

Sam was a bit distracted in her own thoughts to actually listen to the phone call. She moved away to stand up on her own and walked over to the mess in the room that resembled where the creature used to be. She partially wished it could have finished her, so she wouldn't exactly be breaking a promise if something or someone else killed her, but deep inside her she knew that would be doing the same thing if she allowed it. She placed a hand over her head feeling her eyes began to burn as tears swelled up in her eyes. She was sort of glad the sprinklers went off and soaked them to the bone, so it wasn't so obvious.

"Hm.. I see. Clearly this matter can't be trusted to lower hands. I must oversee this cleanup myself. I shall be over there with a crew shortly." Tseng hangs up the phone with not as much as a goodbye to his subordinate.

"Goodbye to you, too," Reno murmured to the silent phone as he replaced it in his inner pocket. He was relieved, though, that he didn't have to answer any invasive questions - for example, the presence of General Dragonfire, bodies exploding, et cetera. Tseng could find out when he got here, and then Reno could at least try to stop him from causing a scene. As an afterthought, though, he hurriedly texted back, "Handled situation. Come alone, need-to-know info lvl here." He hoped that would at least minimize the crew who'd see Yagasaki in all her alive-and-scapegoat glory.

Sam wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked at the body of the man the dark seraph had attacked. She walked over to him and knelt down to roll the man onto his back. She went to see if any pulse was left in him, but could not find any. It was expected, but she couldn't help, but to have memories pop into her mind that made her start crying again this time it was obvious. She closed her eyes to try to keep the tears from rolling, but they came anyway.

Reno heard a sniffle and glanced at Sam. "You okay?" He took a few steps toward her before asking, confused, "Are you crying?"

Sam's eyes widen when she heard Reno speak to her. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She responds, "No, I'm not crying. I'm soaking wet and a lot of water is coming down from my bangs." She said as an excuse as she stood up off the ground.

"I hope this is good Reno." Tseng's voice could be heard firmly from behind Reno. "It's not often that I break protocol like this, but I came alone as you requested," the Turk boss continues as he steps towards the two of them casually, a hands buried in his pockets.

Reno wasn't sure if she was lying or not, but was relieved he didn't have to figure it out. "Alright then," he answered and left her alone to check on Shana. He felt a little guilty, but he wasn't the best one to deal with criers. When he heard Tseng, though, he jumped a mile high.

"Geez, Tseng!" he gasped. Taking a deep breath, he noticed it was true, the other man was alone. "Well, it's worth it. Better the fewer people exposed t' this - for soooo many reasons." He shook his head. "Anyway, first things first. Gotta get him - " he gestured to the night guard's corpse, "to the incinerator, and gotta get them -" Shana and Sam's shadowy figure, "to Healin."

Before Tseng had time to get even angrier, Reno assured him, "We'll explain on the way, promise. But this is time-sensitive, 'kay?"

Sam hearing the new voice, immediately turned to his direction. She wasn't sure if he was an enemy or not, but seeing no gun pointed at her she found as a good sign.

Tseng's eyes shift around to meet everyone in which Reno was pointing to. He stops at Sam specifically for a moment before his eyes shut in thought. Tseng slowly pulls one of his hands out of his pocket holding a pistol in which he points directly at the girl. "Reno, I trust you know who that one is, correct?" He asks with a serious tone to his voice.

Reno winced. Should have seen that coming. It was Tseng after all. Now the question was to be honest or not - his job hung on the line, and Tseng could almost always tell when he was lying. "She saved my life," he answered instead, all seriousness. It was the truth, after all, and it saved him from explaining at least for a little while longer. "She's not going anywhere in that state; we'll deal with it later."

Sam seeing the gun pointed at her lost all the confusion in her expression. An inhuman growl erupted up from her throat. She kept her distance and her mouth shut as she watched his movements. She hoped he would listen to Reno or she may have trouble leaving this city safely.

Tseng's eyes open once again and make contact with Reno as he gives his explanation. "That's all I need to know," Tseng mutters before his finger pulls on the trigger, a loud bang exploding from the gun. It was not a bullet which left the nozzle though, but a mist of intensely powerful cure magic. Tseng without a word quickly turned and fired the same spell at Shana. "Reno trusts you, that's all I need," Tseng says without as much as turning back to the two of them.

Reno's heart stopped for a moment when he'd heard the gun go off. He thought for sure one of them would end up dead - Sam by getting shot, or Tseng for having missed such a mark as her. When he saw he'd cast Fullcure instead, he let out the breath he'd forgotten he was holding. "Thanks," he said, not about to question why Tseng just ignored every dossier and wanted poster for Yagasaki.

Sam winced hearing the gun shot as it hurt her ears. She blinked wondering why a bullet hasn't come to her yet till she looked down at herself feeling her wound didn't hurt anymore. She was as much surprised as Reno was. She lifted up her head to watch Tseng and spoke up, "Thank you."

Tseng returned his gun to his pocket. He began to step over to the mangled security guard on the floor, careful not to get his shoes bloodied by the corpse, "Now Reno, care to explain exactly the cause of this?"

"They're called Dark Seraphs, sir," Reno answered. "They infect and then use the body as a host, eventually ending in hostile take-over." He nodded to the guard. "He might not be long in comin' back zombielicious soon, himself. Got ripped apart by that case we brought in the other day. It musta' got out somehow."

Sam wasn't sure if she should interrupt their conversation, but hearing Reno's explanation she couldn't help herself, "It will take three days to a full week before the body will actually become one of those if the body is infected. I would not take any chances however since the man is long gone. Unless you want another incident or worse to happen then I suggest you take care of this one PROPERLY." She said with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Dark Seraph..." Tseng whispers to himself as if in recollection. He's quickly pulled out of his trance by Sam's request. "With every intention," Tseng replies to her before turning the dirty work over to Reno, "Reno, this body must be disposed of immediately. We must not let anyone else know of this, especially the research department." Of course he still had to cover his ass from the other sects of the organization.

"Of course," Reno agreed. To keeping everything a secret, of course. He was still a bit miffed about having to carry the bloody mess to the incinerator himself. "Best get gloves," he murmured, checking himself to see if he still had a pair of "don't leave fingerprints on the scene" gloves on him. He kind of hoped Sam would offer to help, but he figured she'd probably be busy with Tseng for awhile.

Sam watched Reno for a moment before bringing her attention to the other mess in the research area. She was curious to know what else they held. She hoped she wouldn't find any bodies that would potentially change into one of those creatures. She began to walk off to follow the trail of blood to lead her to a broken down door. She assumed that was the best bet to where the creature escaped from. She walked in to turn on the light switch on the wall.

Tseng slowly made his way over to the unconscious Shana, he slowly slings her over his shoulder unable to just leave her on the ground like that. He then makes his way over to the lab room in which Sam went to investigate. While Reno did have faith in this girl, Tseng couldn't just let her have free roam around the facility.

Sam didn't pay attention to Tseng as she walked over the door remains to have a look inside. She could see the blood on the lab table assuming that's where the body was before it changed. She wondered if they had a chance to do anything with the body at all. She would hate to think they would figure out how to actually use the infection as a weapon to their liking in the future. She began to pull open drawers to have a look to see if any blood was taken from the subject at all or anything like tissue or something. She could sense someone entering the room, but didn't turn to look.

In the meantime, Reno had gloved up and was dragging the body toward one of the many industrial incinerators in the building, grumbling all the way. "Ew ew ew..." Those gloves would have to be thrown out, he reasoned, for safety. A shame, since he really liked them. He made mental notes to clean up the blood trail left, too. Getting the body *into* the incinerator proved to be the big chore, though. Reno hefted him up as best he could, grimace as the body pressed against him, and shoved him into the small door. It wasn't exactly body-sized, proving to be even more disgusting. Tseng knew, Reno thought bitterly. He had to.

Shana, on the other hand, was now semi-conscious from the Fullheal, but was still pretty tired. She could tell she was being carried... rather uncomfortably... but other than that, not too much was clear. "Mmm...?"

Tseng walked into the mess of a room, disinterested in anything specifically in the room since he had to keep an eye on Sam.

Sam let out a heavy sigh not finding anything that made sense to her. She turned around to see Tseng in the room with the woman wondering who she really is, but wasn't going to ask right at this second. She gave him a slight glare wondering if he was stalking her to see what she was doing. "Do you need something?"

Tseng turns his head to her to make his reply, "While I have no particular hostilities towards you at this time, I am still the leader of the Turks and in a respectable position of ShinRa. As long as you're on these premises it's my duty to make sure you don't find your way into anything you shouldn't be involved with." Tseng replies to her bluntly without any attempt to hide his intentions.

"Close the freezer," came a soft voice from behind. Shana didn't understand what was going on, and didn't care - being held upside down was giving her a headache. The others' attention might be drawn to an open square in a wall of small doors - drawers for cadavers. "You're letting the cold out."

What a waste of power... She'd only left the body out for a second to thaw so she could cut it and the next thing she knows, there's blood everywhere and her specimen is gone. Wasting more power on top of that, when mako was no longer in use and resources were scarce - that was a bigger no-no than a strange woman going through drawers of probes, as far as she was concerned.

Sam listened to Tseng and expected that from a Turk or any one from ShinRa to say that. "Of course..." She heard the voice of Shana and was a bit confused at what she was saying. She shut the drawers like the way they were left and began to walk out of the room to get away from Tseng, but stopped just when she passed him, "You better be very careful...or you or someone from ShinRa is going to destroy what's left of this city...You may become one of them one day if you're not careful. You may have to be as smart as the rebels and make a fortress underground if you haven't already."

Tseng shuts his eyes before making his retort, "ShinRa has dealt with many problems caused by its own hands in the past. The way things were handled back then may not have been ideal though.. It's not without fault I say this and I know President Rufus would agree with me that we have made mistakes. Those people taught us the importance of what it means to be human though. It's my job to risk myself for ShinRa and the people of Midgar. If that comes at the cost of my own life then so be it." Tseng finishes his rant.

Sam snorted and continued walking off, "ShinRa...is not the only one that has to deal with this problem now." She walked out of the room in search for Reno.

Reno was not happy. Not happy at all. The incinerator roared to life, his nice gloves and blood-covered suit jacket inside it as well. He shivered as he turned to assess the floor damage, shirtless, cold, and wet from the sprinklers. He didn't want to mop up; he just wanted to go home. He leaned back and took a deep breath. "TSENG!" he called down the hall, figuring it would carry in the empty stillness. "FLOOR!" So it might've been a little immature, but he'd earned a moment.

Sam crossed her arms over her chest and paused hearing the shout. She rolled her eyes and followed the shout down the hall till she found the owner of it. She blinked seeing him bare-chested and was afraid to ask, but did anyway, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Whaddas it look like I'm doin', yo?" he asks her brusquely, hiding another shiver. "I'm cleanin' up contaminants." He glares at the floor, as though it is his mortal enemy. "This, though, I don't know about. Can't burn the floor, yo."

There was something about hospitals and, to a lesser extent, morgues that Gideon couldn't help but enjoy. It had nothing to do with the morbidity or philosophical nature of death. A curiosity, sure, but it he always enjoyed the clean, cutting edge of the environment as a representation of progress. As he walked down the practically submerged hallway, flanked by his two bodyguards, one of which held an elegant umbrella over the man, protecting his immaculate appearance from the still drippy sprinklers, he let out a languid sigh as he texted away on his phone.

Sam arched an eyebrow. "Looks like you're stripping to me," she said, but couldn't help to have a look at him for a brief moment. She shivered herself, but not due to coldness and shook her head. "No I suppose not. Gotta bleach it."

"I came here without a shirt t' begin with, remember?" Reno asked dryly, annoyed. "Jacket was all I had, an' now that's gone, too." Women.

Tseng begins to make his way towards Reno's incessantly whiny voice; however, before he could make much progress through the hall he found himself in the presence of Gideon. The Turk leader does the best he can to bow to the man despite Shana hanging over his shoulder. "Mr. Gideon, it's quite the surprise to see you here at this time of the night." He attempts to not draw attention to anything specifically, though it was difficult with the situation he was in.

"Well, my security team got wind of quite a bit of trouble in your labs and given the sensitive nature of what's going on here with equipment supplied by my company, I figured I should swing by and see how things are going." He glanced up and put the phone away. "Everything's peachy, I hope."

Sam grinned at Reno's explanation and responds, "Sure...that's the reason why it's gone..." She blinked when she heard a new voice in the area and looked in the direction wondering who that could be.

Reno gingerly pressed the large bruise forming on his chest as he, too, began wandering toward the main hall, curious as to what drew everyone's attention. "Ow..."

Sam placed her hand over his shoulder, "Stop hurting yourself." She joked before walking off to have a look at the new visitors.

"There's no need to worry sir. A power outage merely set the sprinklers off in the facility. I assure you if any major issues occurred that you would be immediately informed." Tseng was able to lie calmly to the man through his teeth. Tseng's eyes were suddenly drawn by Reno and Sam's silhouettes appearing behind Gideon. He immediately had a sunken feeling in the pit of his stomach; the situation was already suspicious enough.

Reno stopped in his tracks. If he didn't feel naked before, he did now. "Uh... Yo, Mr. Graves!" Sweatdrop. Big time. "Everythin' okay?" He glanced between him and Tseng, on edge. He could make up a story and lie like a rug, sho'nuf, but he wanted to make sure he got a feel for the story. Had to get it straight, after all.

"So... a power outage caused the sprinklers to turn on," he repeated evenly to Reno. He paused for a beat and adjusted the spectacles that he was known for."I'm a bit curious as to how that exactly would be the case, given I would assume that a facility like this would contain several redundant generators to keep that from being an issue. I mean, you guys are a power company, after all."

Sam looked at the man and noticed his voice sounded familiar, but never did have a look at the guy. It seemed like another Rufus to her. She rolled her eyes at hearing they were a power company.

"With all due respect Mr. Graves, ShinRa's dealings in Mako energy have ceased. Unfortunately room for extraneous expenses has been cut short. We must allocate our resources effectively, and this facility is not high priority for us at the moment. I hope you understand." Tseng bows again courteously to the entrepreneur.

Reno merely nods in agreement. Tseng seems to be handling it well for now - hell, its Tseng, of course he is. For once, Reno will bite his tongue unless he's asked a direct question. Something this big, he knows to keep his mouth shut.

"I'm curious about something, Mr. Tseng. Why would a man of your rank in the illustrious Turks make an appearance in a low priority complex for a little bit of a flicker of the lights?" The question itself was innocuous and his composure was calm and almost friendly, but there was a certain edge to it.

Sam heard his question and lowered her head hiding a smirk knowing what he was talking about. She never knew she would find any amusement in this conversation.

"We thought there was a fire," Reno blurted out. With the awkward attention on him, he continued, "When the blip came on that the sprinklers were goin' off and the power flickered, we figured there might be an electrical fire. Turks have been reassigned to public security, an' a place like this goin' up in smoke - with the chemicals here, coulda' exploded, y'know?" Reno paused, feeling pleased with his quick, sensible explanation. "You can tell the urgency of comin' over t' prevent that," he said, gesturing his lack of clothes.

Sam tried her hardest not to burst out laughing at his explanation. She had to advert her eyes to something else like the wall as it seemed more interesting.

Gideon took a deep breath through his nose. "Huh... sure doesn't smell like one... Smells like formaldehyde to me..."

Tseng's eyes narrowed slightly, this man's curiosity was dangerous. It seemed Gideon already knew something was up, at this point it was up to them to make sure the man did not receive any evidence of the events. "Well after all sir, with dampness comes many unpleasant smells. Reno was working quite hard to turn the sprinkler system off since getting here and has gotten quite wet himself. The smells you're experiencing may be emanating from him." Tseng responds tactfully at Reno's expense.

Reno's eye twitched. Sure, pick on the smoker. "Could be," he said through his teeth as pleasantly as possible.

Sam turned her head to look at Reno and her nose cringed a bit at the scent, but it wasn't him she really smelled. He was right, the place did smell like formaldehyde and it smelled bad. She had been trying to avoid smelling through her nose this whole time till now.

Shana desperately held in a laugh at Reno's discomfort.

Gideon paused for a moment, his keen eyes surveying the scene in silence. "Well... I suppose that sounds reasonable. I'll be sure to let my people to not make mountains out of mole hills in the future. I would not rather be dragged out of bed for superfluous reasons." Nodding to his silent guards, he turned around and began to walk away. "Keep up the good work, and... don't burn Reno over the hygiene issue," he said over his shoulder.

Shit, Reno thought, He knows. He knows he knows he knows. He just stood stock still with the stupid smile plastered on his face until Gideon left, though.

Tseng could feel relief surge through his body as Gideon left them without digging any deeper into the situation.

Sam watches the man leave and couldn't help, but to sputter out laughter. She couldn't keep it in anymore. She was waiting or the man to actually walk into the place to see the blood on the walls and then there would be an issue.

Once Gideon was gone, Reno's face fell into a scowl. "You're an ass, Tseng," he snapped, and turned to find some bleach. Shana snickered into Tseng's shoulder.

Tseng ignored Reno's comment, he hears Shana giggling into his shoulder. "I take it this one is ok now from the sound of it." He lets her down off his shoulder to stand.

Sam turned around to go help out as she was still fighting to stop laughing at the sudden discomfort Reno was going through. She spoke through her laughter, "Oh come on Reno, its better than him...finding out...right?"

"Aw, really, Tseng?" Shana lightly laments. "I was almost starting to get used to that."

"Yeah yeah, sure," Reno grumbled over his shoulder at Sam. He knew it was true - keeping all this under the radar was the most important thing - but it still bugged him to be thrown under the bus. He stepped around the broken glass of the tainted lab's door and went straight to the sink area for bleach. This is where the body first went nuts; it was as good a place as any to start.

She walked into the room and glanced around again before looking to see what Reno was grabbing, "Now it's going to smell like bleach...I wonder what the explanation would be if he were to come back and ask what the bleach was for."

"It's five in the mornin'. I doubt he'll be showin' up again in the next coupla' minutes," Reno said with certainty. He thought. "We'll just hafta ventilate it... somehow. Whatever, they use bleach all the time in here, of course it's gonna smell like antiseptic. Won't be so bad after awhile." Better than all that formaldehyde, he figured. Sure, that's in a lab plenty, but not as strong as it is now.

Tseng opens his phone momentarily. "5 AM.. In just a couple hours the workers will be back in here. Reno, hurry with that cleanup, we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

Sam pat Reno's back before walking out to go find a broom to help sweep all the ash in the middle of the room, "Yeah Reno, hurry up." She joked. She couldn't believe she got herself into this mess in the first place. She told herself she needed to leave, but why won't she listen?

"It would go a lot FASTER if you'd help, Tseng," Reno called pointedly from the other room.

"Don't forget to hire a new night guard, too," Shana said, patting Tseng on the shoulder as she passed him by. She headed for the security office and let herself in through the now-broken door. "I'll do you a favor."

She picked up the phone and recorded a hotline message. "The Graves Laboratory is being used for a continued training seminar for public security officials this morning. It will reopen at eleven a.m. and resume its regularly scheduled work hours tomorrow at six a.m. Thank you." She hung up and sent the computerized call. "I just bought you a few more hours - don't disappoint me now, sweetheart," she called dryly behind her as she emerged. "I'm going home."

"I would help you Reno; however, someone needs to stand ready in case someone else attempts to find this mess." While Tseng had a lot of respect for the other Turks he had to keep them in line somehow. Tseng shut his eyes as Shana patronizes him. Though she was teasing him he was grateful for her help.

Sam chuckled, but understood Tseng's reason, "Oh you big baby, you just don't want bleach to get on your suit." She spoke out down the hall as she returned to Reno. "I'll help. Just tell me what to do."

Reno's righteous ire died a bit when Sam offered to help. In fact, he was caught a little off-guard, so used to his regular spats with Tseng. "Uh... 'kay. Thanks." He ventured a grin. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. No More Heroes

The wind blows wildly across the cold dead terrain. Despite the Mako reactors having been shut down, the land surrounding Midgar was still barren and lifeless. Atop a tall Cliffside Cloud stood, gazing out towards the city. Though the Buster Sword no longer remained there as a landmark, Cloud could never forget this spot. Him and the others had fought so hard and done so much up until now, but Cloud still found solace in meeting with his old friend occasionally.

A shadow had been stalking him for some time now as there hasn't been many people in or out of Midgar. Seeing the man stop at a cliffside could not think of any more perfect place. The shadow spoke, but it's voice sounded as if it was everywhere and obviously male as it spoke, "You are brave to come this far out of the city in the wide open...alone."

Cloud's mind snapped back to the present as he heard the sound of an unknown voice around him. "Hm?.. Who's out there?" Cloud gripped the hilt of his fusion sword tightly at his side, not willing to take any chances.

The shadow rose up from the ground and began to form a figure. The three sets of wings spread out to their full length as they formed. The dark seraph slid his brown hair back out of his face and opened his blood red eyes to look at Cloud clearly with interest, "I haven't have fun with an actual human for some time now...other dark seraph's get boring every now and then." As he moved, the chains wrapped around his arms rattled.

Cloud's eyes scanned over the being. He noticed in particular the being's wings, but that was impossible.. The Jenova cells were eradicated a long time ago. On top of that it seemed to not have any idea who Cloud was. If that was the case it clearly had nothing to do with the Reunion. So what was this thing? What did it want? Wait, what was that thing it just mentioned? "Dark Seraph's?.." Cloud mutters questioningly to the monster.

The dark seraph arched an eyebrow at hearing his questioning, "Have you been absent off this planet the past year boy?" He smirked slightly as he sent a shadow across the ground towards Cloud. "No matter...you will soon find out." The shadow burst out of the ground as a spike. The creature's intent was to knock him off the cliff side.

Cloud had no time to dodge, thinking quickly he pulls his sword from the ground and intercepted the spike with it. The force still ends up pushing Cloud off the cliff; however, very likely to the being's surprise gravity didn't seem to have much of an effect on Cloud. He wasn't entirely sure what this thing was exactly, but its intentions were against him. "Tch, I imagine you're a bit hazy yourself if you don't know who I am.." Cloud used the spike to push himself into the air, then dove towards the monster, readying his sword for a frontal strike.

The creature chuckled and flapped it's wings to get up into the air. It swung it's arm sending out a chain towards Cloud. The chain seemed alive as it came forward and moved to try and wrap around the blade and the hand that held it, "I don't need to know 'who' you are exactly. Your human, that is all I care about. I don't need to know the names of my victims."

Cloud tried to readjust his arm to avoid the chains. While he managed to save his hand, the chain still ended up stuck around the blade, halting his attack. "Dammit.." Cloud muttered as he lands in front of the Seraph. Cloud takes this moment to look into the beast's eyes. They were filled with a murderous intent. Cloud's own eyes narrowed, "Don't underestimate me." The fusion swords unlatch and Cloud pulls at the hilt with his other hand. With that Cloud pulls one of the pieces of the sword off into a separate sword sliding it through the chains creating leeway for the main piece. This opportunity was too advantageous though. Cloud pulls the main piece back in an attempt to pull the Seraph forward as the extension piece's tip is pointed straight for it's stomach.

He held up his hand with the chain and pulled back as Cloud began to pull. He smirked and watched the human in awe, "You are apparently an experience fighter...that is good because I didn't want to get bored." He swung his free arm swinging the chain to try and wrap around his leg and pull forward.

Quickly adjusting to the new situation Cloud sticks the free piece of the Fusion Sword into the ground where the chain was aiming, the chain wrapping around its blade as opposed to his leg. Cloud then uses the grounded sword as a support to push his body swiftly in the air to aim a kick to the monster's head, no arms free to defend itself without releasing Cloud's weapons.

Uriko smirked watching him come towards. He didn't seem all that worried about being struck. He seemed more amazed. The chains snapped off at where they held the blades and the creature closed in his arms to swing inward to bring the chains in attempt to catch cloud in mid air. He spread out his arms commanding the chains to tighten up.

Cloud took notice of the surprisingly quick counter to his attack. Hitting the monster wouldn't outweigh being completely constricted by it. Cloud let's go of the sword piece planted in the ground, the centrifugal force cutting off, sending his body flying in a direction off the side. He manages to catch himself in a kneeling position as he slides across the ground a short distance. Those chains were going to be a pain, he had to find a way around them somehow.

The chains pulled back and returned to Uriko wrapping around his arms again, "Never seen anything like this I assume? Come on boy, you got me interested, lets see what else you got." He taunted him. He landed on the ground and folded his wings behind his back.

Cloud stands up slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on the Seraph. He reaches into his pocket to pull out a small case. When he flips it open, it reveals a hefty array of materia orbs. Cloud wastes no time grabbing the one he wants in particular and setting it into one of the materia slots on his blade. Cloud starts to charge forward again as he snaps the case shut and replaces it in his pocket. He attempts to perform another head-on assault, swinging his sword once he was in attack distance again.

Uriko decided to take the sword head on and lifted up it's arm. It used the chains as if it was a shield to block the sword attack, but he winced a bit with the pressure of the sword. One set of his wings lunged forward with the claws out on the top of it to slash at him.

The Fusion Swords made another clicking sound as Cloud unleashed another piece of his sword. He pulls the piece off to guard against the sharp talon so he could have a chance to make his move. With the main piece still pressed against the chain shield, the materia orb Cloud set began to glow brightly. Within the second the sound of electricity could be heard building up before a sudden jolt surged through the sword into the chains, conducting itself towards the Seraph's body.

Uriko had a quick thought go through his mind that this human is really clever. He felt the full force of the shock and his body flew back landing on the ground. He was a bit disoriented as he got up into a kneel position. He pressed his hand onto the ground and the chains became loose, "I am very impressed...not many humans get to hear that from me." He chuckled.

Cloud didn't let up his guard, maintaining the two pieces he was currently wielding in a ready position at his sides. "I'm not interested in your praise." Cloud finally spoke up again to the creature.

Uriko chuckled not getting up from where he stood, "That's too bad...you should be honored." His hand on the ground began to glow a bright red as he pressed into the ground. The chains began to glow as well as they dug into the ground below. The chains traveled under the ground until they were under Cloud before springing up.

Cloud is caught completely off guard as the chains appear around him. This was too dangerous, but there's was no time to think of anything clever to get out of this situation. Cloud makes an attempt to dodge roll out of the center of the mayhem. This battle needed to end quickly, and there was only one move he had which could certainly do it. Cloud never thought this attack would need to be used against anyone but that man though.. Nevertheless the monster was left wide open while in this state. Now Cloud just needed to get close enough.

The chains pulled out of the ground and returned back to Uriko. Uriko immediately stood up and charged at Cloud. As soon as he got to striking range, he suddenly vanished in a dark mist.

Cloud had swung his sword forward in an attempt to make contact with the beast only to find himself cutting nothing but the stagnant air around him. There was no way that thing was just giving up and leaving, it was somewhere, but where? Not taking any chances this time, Cloud leaps in the air to avoid another sneak attack from underneath him.

The mist began to move and spread out in the air to cause confusion as Uriko began to form in the air a bit from afar above Cloud. He didn't wait till the mist fully finished as he swung his arm to sling a chain towards him in an attempt to grab hold of Cloud's waist. He closed his wings and began to dive towards the ground below.

There it was! The chance Cloud needed. He unlatches the cape he wears on his left side and allows it to be the bait for the chain to capture as Cloud makes his decent downwards. He begins to spin the Fusion Sword over his head as he makes his decent downwards, the sword itself and its separated appendages begin to glow a fiery blue aura around them. The battle rode on this move now.

Uriko released the cape, but continued his downward descent. He could sense Cloud was going to do something if he didn't do something quickly. He smirked as a thought came to mind. He was going to show Cloud why the dark seraph's are so feared. He turned himself around to face Cloud and held out his hand. The darkness began to shift below and suddenly burst up into the air in a rage. The the atmosphere began to turn dark as the darkness began to cover the ground and the area. The chains returned to the red glow, but this time on both hands. His wings opened up to slow his descent to the ground.

Cloud began to sense a sinister energy emanating from the Seraph. There was no way he could hold back now though, this might be the last shot he has. Cloud just had to move faster. As Cloud closed the distance he readied the Fusion Sword behind his back for an attack, but once he was face to face with the monster Cloud suddenly stopped moving, floating in place. The main piece of the Fusion Sword finally breaks off into its remaining pieces, and the two pieces Cloud had already released all fly off into a circular pattern surrounding the Seraph. Unarmed, Cloud begins to glow the same color as the swords themselves.. Everything was in place to perform the Omnislash Version 5.

Uriko looked quite interested in this attack he was seeing. He has never seen a human do such a thing, however, he never let them have the chance to get this far. Uriko squeezed his hand into a fist and multiple chains separated away from him into the darkness. The chains came in all different directions coming inward in not just an attempt to capture Cloud, but to grab hold of the sword hilts as well. He shouted, "What are you going to do now?" He couldn't wait for his reply. He found this all too much fun.

The monster's response to the attack was surprising to Cloud to say the least. He couldn't give up now though, the aura generated by the attack gave Cloud a boost of superhuman speed as he went flying out to grab a sword before the chains got to them. He would have to find a way to modify the attack on the fly or else he would only get an attack or two in. As he grabbed a sword he would fly in and slash at the beast with paralyzing force, giving Cloud enough time to pick up his next sword. As he left the swords behind Cloud left them in a different position each time to force the chains to readjust slightly.. 2, 3, 4, 5.. Each slash came in faster and faster; however, he could feel the attack was moving much more sluggishly than when he had used it on Sephiroth before. He didn't have to worry so much about his sword placement then.. 8, 9, 10. It was almost the final blow. 12, 13. Cloud reached for the last sword to perform the final most devastating blow. This was the most important. Just as Cloud went to tug on the sword to bring it in for the attack he felt himself tugged backwards with an exorbitant amount of force. "Agh!" Cloud grunted loudly not expecting that all the chains had focused in on this one last piece as well as wrapped themselves tightly around his hand and the hilt. The glowing blue aura around Cloud and the pieces slowly began to dissipate. Despite all his efforts, Cloud's attempt at the Omnislash had failed him.

Uriko was surprised to see Cloud actually struck him in mid air. Not once, but multiple times. He could feel multiple wounds dripping with dark nearly black colored blood. Once he felt Cloud stop, he shot his head up to shoot a death glare. He never expected him to get this many hits in, but he can't complain about that now as he head him. He turned around and just managed to land on his feet. He turned and grabbed hold of the chains and yanked it down to bring Cloud down to the ground. He used one chain to have a clear hold on the sword not going to let him have another swipe at him.

Swiftly the rest of the pieces of the Fusion Sword hurtled towards the ground, each of them making a loud slicing noise as they buried themselves into the dirt. Cloud didn't even have the energy to try and escape now, only gasping deeply for air. What was he going to do now? He couldn't force his way out of this prison with all his energy expended.

Uriko watched him for a moment before advancing towards him with a wide smirk, "What's the matter? Ran out of tricks up your sleeve?" He asked while he had the chains grab hold of his wrist to push on the pressure points to force his hand to open. The chains took the sword away from him as soon as he did. He wasn't going to have any chance of being shocked again. He found that a very unpleasant experience he would rather not go through again. He reached over to grab hold of his face with his claws, "You gave me a lot of trouble...but your human?" He couldn't believe it. The only time a human actually caused him this trouble was...He paused in his thoughts as he watched the blood slide off his arm landing on the chains and Cloud's clothes. He gave a smirk as a thought came to mind, "You gave me a hard time indeed...I think you would make a fine addition to the race." He released his face and used his claws to slash at Cloud's right arm.

"Gah!" Cloud jerks his head backwards in pain as his arm is cut. Blood starts to run smoothly out of the gaping wound. "What.. What the hell are you talking about?" Cloud manages to spit the words out.

Uriko grabbed hold of his arm watching the blood ooze out of his arm, "You will be...one of us. You will be very well capable of killing human beings. Well, not you of course, but your body will..." The creature took it's own blood in it's claws and fingers then grab hold of his wound.

Cloud's body locked up in the pain, "Rrg! Don't.. go around deciding things for me," he is still able to retort.

Uriko leaned forward to get in Cloud's face looking at him with wild almost insane eyes, "It isn't for 'you' to decide anymore I'm afraid. You have some time to remain human before a dark seraph will take your place. Your body will be used as a host for one of us...You will die, but not yet."

"Tch.. Why do I feel like I've heard something like this before," Cloud begins to recollect his past for a moment. "You sound just like him," he gathers his thoughts for a moment before continuing, "does this have anything to do with Sephiroth or Jenova?" Cloud had to ask, he needed to know what he was dealing with this time.

Uriko hearing 'Sephiroth' couldn't help, but laugh. His whole body suddenly shifted form into Sephiroth's form with the six wings spread out to their full length. His expression seemed to not fit on Sephiroth's face as it looked rather insane, "You mean him? He is dead and long gone. He won't be a bother anymore." The form changed back and he continued, "No, we have nothing to do with Sephiroth or this...Jenova. We were created by a ShinRa scientist named Marcus...you have him to thank, but of course...he's dead too!" His wounds began to heal as the darkness rose to seal up the wounds.

Cloud's eyes threw a glare at it as it transformed into his greatest foe. "ShinRa.. What was ShinRa doing performing research like that?" Cloud's curiosity stirred even further. His hopes of possibly turning the tides on this situation sank a bit as he saw the Seraph heal its wounds.

Uriko commanded the chains to throw him onto the ground as he didn't see the need to hold onto him any longer. The chains spread out to gather up the swords off the ground and brought them over to Uriko, "Marcus...acted on his own to research this...He wanted the power to cleanse this planet from you humans. We are the final project."

Cloud's legs give out incredibly easily as he falls down onto one knee. "You bastard.. So you're going to destroy everyone at the request of some guy who is already dead?" Cloud lifts his head to make eye contact with the monster again as he speaks with it.

Uriko examined the multiple swords wondering how this technology worked as he answered, "No, I'm doing the opposite of his request, but we declined to stop him...he was...not fit to be our leader. That's typical for humans to have second thoughts. I killed him and it was very satisfying indeed." He gave up trying to figure it out and placed the swords into the ground.

Cloud finally manages to catch his breath. This was certainly no time for him to be sitting down, he's fought through much worse before. He slowly manages to stand upright again, clenching his fists. He was ready to fight, but it was clear he wouldn't be able to put up the same battle he did earlier.

Uriko watched him stand up onto his feet and was grinned, "Good, I see you haven't given up, but your strong will can only hold out for so long before it finally snaps." The chains grabbed hold of each sword and began to toss the swords back over to him. "You will die, just like the others did by the infection. Don't worry though...your body will be used for good use for this planet after your gone."

"I'm really getting sick of all your crap.." Cloud mutters as he pulls one of the pieces of his sword from the ground and takes a swing at the Seraph.

Uriko used it's wings to fly back just out of reach of the swing, "Oh...it's not so bad...You will start to understand soon enough I assure you."

Cloud's body began to tremble a bit, dropping the sword piece he had just swung, "S-shit.." Cloud's body collapses to the ground, unconscious from the whole ordeal.

Uriko watched the warrior fall to the ground and smirked, "When you next awaken...you will wish this was a nightmare.." He said before fading off into the shadows.


	4. Unexpected Arrival

Reno stretched as he exited the garage, then let his arms fall to his sides with a sigh. Decontaminating the lab was long and hard, not to mention thankless and frustrating. He was glad for Sam's help, though. Tseng's "supervisory" role would have been much less tolerable without it. Now, however, with the morning sun hitting his bare skin, smelling like bleach and attracting stares, Reno just wanted to get back to his apartment and shower.

Tseng steps out from the building behind Reno. The sun didn't seem to affect him much, but of course since his eyes were already closed it was a bit difficult to tell. "Good work today.. Ah Reno, you may want to get home and take a shower by the way, you reek of bleach." Tseng suggests as he starts to walk towards his expensive black car.

Sam tried not to breathe through her nose as it would burn if she were to inhale through it. The enhanced sense didn't help very much. She was relieved to be finished so she could exit out through the garage to have a breath of fresh air. She didn't feel she should be involved with their conversation, so went on ahead.

Reno's eye twitched. "Thanks, Tseng. I'll take that into consideration," he said sarcastically, as if he needed the outside suggestion. He slung his leg over his bike and straddled it, grumbling to his helmet which wouldn't fire him for the things he said. "You sure you don't need a ride anywhere?" he asked Sam. "Sun's up."

Sam knew it wouldn't be a good idea to travel now the way she got here now that the sun is up. She wasn't sure where she was going to go. She really had no destination in mind. A thought came to mind and she responds, "I left something back at your place. I need to go back and get it."

Yuffie stifled a yawn with her purple glove, wouldn't do her any good if she were discovered. That defeated the purpose of 'sneaking around'. Actually, she was sneaking around with a purpose this time. There have been rumors recently circulating around about a potential "new crisis" threatening the Planet. Not many people within the WRO knew about it; they were only rumors. However, Reeve didn't want to take any chances, and so he sent Yuffie to investigate thus why she found herself hiding in the bushes next to this suspicious-looking building.

She was quietly listening for people coming and going, and hoping that they dropped verbal hints as they entered and exited the building, but so far it had been pretty boring. No one had really left or entered, and she'd been there for quite some time. Stifling another yawn, Yuffie slumped over as she battled sleep. As soon as she decided to close her eyes (but only for a moment), she heard something that definitely caught her interest. The doors had swished open quietly, and voices could now be heard. Opening her eyes again, Yuffie sat up at listened to the oddly familiar voices as they continued speaking.

"Oh... yeah, I guess you did," Reno was answering Sam. He wasn't even thinking about that before, he'd left in such a hurry. He only noticed now that he wasn't completely preoccupied that she wasn't wearing anything over her small shirt. Small, white, soaked shirt... Focus, Reno, focus! "Um, ya wanna come back with me then? You can use my shower, too, I guess..." he offered awkwardly.

Sam seemed to have a mental battle erupt inside of her mind as she thought about going back. Most of this battle was actually to get on the bike more than anything. She let out a heavy sigh and nodded her head, "Alright...don't drive crazy like you did on the way here...or there will be an accident." She warned him.

Having left his spare helmet across town when Sam declined, Reno offered her his. "Alright, deal. Besides, emergency's kinda over for now, right? Think we can relax for the fifteen minutes or so."

Yuffie frowned as the voices got louder. She could swear that Reno was right around the corner from her. And she thought she could also hear Tseng as well, but he only spoke briefly. The third voice was a woman she didn't recognize.

Sam walked over and took the helmet from him, "Hmm...for a short while, but who knows for how long, I don't know..." She put the helmet over her head and adjusted it to for her size. She has never worn one before, but was smart enough to figure this out.

She felt her heart fall though when she actually got onto the bike. She wasn't sure what she was more worried about. Was it to be on a bike or was it that she would be forced to touch his bare skin on the way back. She swallowed hard and couldn't help but turn red a bit as she leaned over, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Can ya breathe okay?" Reno asked over his shoulder. "There's a vent switch right under the visor, should be open for ya already. But once we get goin', if it ain't enough feel free ta' just open up the whole front, I'll block most a' the wind for ya."

Sam listened, but wasn't sure what he meant for a moment till she messed with the helmet for a moment, "oh okay...thanks." She said before situating herself again. She closed her eyes tightly feeling a panic hit her twice as hard when she realized they were about to go.

He had just opened the door to his car and stepped in when Tseng suddenly could hear a faint rustling coming from the bushes nearby. Normally he would brush off such things as an animal, but after the events of tonight it was too suspicious.

Among that he also just had a feeling...something was off. He turned around quietly and slowly approached the set of bushes, carefully pulling his materia pistol from his pocket.

Oh damn! Yuffie thought as she heard the unmistakable click of dress shoes approaching her hiding spot. Perhaps she hadn't been careful enough when she sat up. Cursing herself for not being careful,

Yuffie's hand tightened around her Conformer. As soon as Yuffie could see the shoes from between the leaves, she sprang up and swung her over-sized shuriken towards whoever it was that discovered her.

Tseng reacted quickly to the sudden appearance of Yuffie in front of him, pointing his gun toward the giant shuriken coming in his direction. As he shoots in an attempt to deflect the weapon, he suddenly remembers that he forgot to swap out the full cure materia he was using earlier. A mist of cure magic fetidly surrounds the weapon as it comes down and gashes Tseng's knuckles. "Gah!" Tseng yells as he grabs his now bleeding hands.

"What the - ?" Reno reacted to the sudden threat by shifting his weight - and the bike's - suddenly, his left hand going for a weapon. And then he saw Yuffie. "Yuffie? What the hell, man?" he asked. She was a ninja, sure, but this... this he just couldn't take seriously. Though watching Tseng get flustered and hurt, when he was always telling Reno to be prepared no matter what, was pretty amusing.

Sam blinked when she heard him speak and looked out over to who he spoke to. She arched an eyebrow wondering how long that person had been there. She didn't remember walking by her when she walked out of the building, "Who?"

"Tseng!" exclaimed Yuffie as she nearly dropped her weapon. But she was able to keep the large ninja star in her hands as she leaped over the bushes to see how bad Tseng's now bleeding hand was. She wasn't exactly friends with the Turks, but after their help the past few years; she was much more willing to trust them. "I'm sorry," she exclaimed while attempting to cure the wound. It wasn't that bad, but she still instinctively felt bad for cutting the man's hand. "Are you alright," she asked, purposefully ignoring Reno.

Tseng rolled his wrist a few times upon his hands being cured. It didn't hurt too badly, it was more the surprise of them getting hit that got to him. "Yes, they're fine," Tseng assures her, he finally examines who it was that had attacked him. "You.. You're that girl from the WRO. Yuffie it is correct?" He asked her. You would think he would remember Yuffie better than that.

"Yuffie," Reno repeated for Sam's sake, and began to explain. "You remember Cloud? She's one a' his buddies. Works with the World Regenesis Organization now." He then turned to the ninja in question. "What're you doin' here, hidin' in the bushes? Shouldn't you be with Reeve or somethin'?"

Yuffie stood straight and saluted the senior Turk with a wink. "Yuffie Kisaragi, White Rose of Wutai, at your service." Then to Reno, Yuffie stuck out her tongue. "I was doing some recon work for Reeve, if you really need to know. Which reminds me, why are two Turks doing at a place like this," Yuffie asked while crossing her arms, a serious look befalling her face. It was time to get to work.

Sam kept silent, but listened closely. She was curious to know what was going on. Like she needed to hear more panic going on around here.

Tseng reached down to pick his pistol up from the ground. As he returns upright he replies to her, "Business of the Turks and ShinRa are none of the WRO's concern." He opens up the casing of his gun to replace the materia inside. "Curious that Reeve is sending his patrols around Shinra premise though. I'll be sure to have the President remind Reeve of the WRO's agreement." Tseng might have been a little grumpy over his recent embarrassment.

Yuffie's eyes narrowed at Tseng's quiet threat. She didn't like anyone talking about her boss like that. "Like hell it isn't the WRO's concern. I'm sure you've heard the rumors, and I wouldn't be surprised if you all were involved with it somehow. When it comes to the Planet's well-being, the WRO is top priority. What business you have becomes the WRO's in regards to Gaia." spat the young ninja. "I'll ask again, what business do two Turks have at a building like this?"

"Whoa there, li'l philly, calm down," Reno cut in. "Before everyone starts pointin' fingers, can we just take a step back here?" He looked between Tseng and Yuffie for a second, nearly feeling the electricity between them. "Look, Yuff, we're investigatin' the rumors too, just like you. That's it. People start gettin' sick and seein' strange shit, you think we're really gonna stand back an' not do anythin'?" He paused for emphasis, eyebrows raised, as if to say that's stupid. "So relax, alright?"

The irate ninja's fist came down on Reno's head. "Philly," she repeated angrily. "Don't call me that!" Yuffie crossed her arms indignantly as she let Reno's words sink in. It did kind of make sense, though, what he was saying. Don't ever tell Reno she said that, even if it was only in her brain. "Fine," she muttered finally. "Tseng needs to get the stick out of his ass, though," she coughed out.

"At least we agree on one thing," Reno grumbled softly as he rubbed his head. All this bruising was not fun. Reno was starting to feel rather like a human piñata, which meant he was taking damage, which usually went along with losing. And he didn't like losing.

"So, Turkey, are you going to fill me in on what you know? It's better if we work together to figure this out," Yuffie said seriously.

Sam let out a heavy sigh having relaxed a bit from the stress of being on the bike, but now a new stress arose, but it was none of her concern. She just wanted to be somewhere at least quiet for a bit to relax. No where seemed to be good for that.

Reno glanced at Tseng, one eyebrow raised. Should we? Here, now? Ever? It made sense... but on the other hand, Turks worked alone. Habit, maybe, but tradition.

Tseng finally returned his pistol to his pockets. "There's only so much we can disclose without permission from someone hire. All I can tell you is we've begun to discover the true threat these Dark Seraphs stand. They multiply using human bodies and are considerably powerful." Tseng turns himself back towards his car.

The young ninja pouted a little. That couldn't be the only information they could tell her. She already knew all of this. She was hoping that the Turks, given their influence, would know a little more about what was going on. Yuffie turned to Reno, hoping he would be a bit looser with information than his comrade. "That can't be everything," she said with a silent plea for more info.

Reno shrugged. "Sorry - that's pretty much it." Pretty much. "Look, I gotta get back to my apartment; I reek of bleach in case ya hadn't noticed. Love t' chat, but can't, so - " He keyed up the bike and revved it, drowning out anything else she might say. If she decided to take the hint and seek him out later, somewhere more private, then maybe he'd talk. But for now, he hadn't decided. Business was business, after all.

Sam felt that sudden fear hit her again. She winced a bit at the noise as the engine roared to life. She re-closed her eyes and subconsciously tightened her grip on him.

Indignantly, she huffed a loud sigh as Reno conveniently revved his engine. Yuffie wasn't satisfied with Reno's answer. She'd just find him later and get more answers from him. There was no way she would give up! Those Turkeys knew so much more than what they were letting on, and as a member of the WRO, it was Yuffie's duty to find out what they knew. She was the head of the espionage and intelligence gathering department, after all.

"If we're done here, then I shall be departing now. Oh, by the way.." Tseng stops for a second and turns the top half of his body slightly, "Ms. Kisaragi, I would suggest you be more careful traveling on your own with these monsters wandering the streets." The Turk leader then proceeds to returning to his car, elegantly taking the driver's seat and starting his ignition.

Yuffie sneered at the dark haired man. "Thanks for the concern, but I think I can take care of myself," she said with a little venom. Geez, first they completely ignore her request for information, then they decide to question her abilities as a ninja...She was seriously close to roasting these Turkeys for an early lunch. But she still needed information from them, so she decided to pay them back later.

Reno nodded his farewell to Yuffie as well, and with a quick boot to the kickstand, rolled out of the driveway and onto the street, the distance growing every second.


End file.
